Good-bye 2007

Today is the last day of 2007 and I'm not sad to see it go. I am looking forward to a new and fresh year. 2007 was a tough year, one of learning to cope with a husband that has no job and trying to make ends meet. 2007 was also a year of blessings, a new nephew to welcome into the family, a new baby in my belly, and lots of 'firsts' with my children: first lost tooth, first day without training pants, first sentence spoken...

I always made resolutions for the new year when I was growing up and one by one, I always broke them. Then I learned not to make such impossible resolutions like a genuine size 12 teen wanting to fit into size 6, or wishing to be someone that I'm not. I've learned that I needed to start small, with realistic goals and then I started accomplishing things. My most proudest resolution that I kept and succeeded at, was one I made in 2001: Quit smoking. Hubby and I decided it was time to start a family and we both wanted to be the healthiest we could be as parents, so we both quit "cold turkey" on January 1, 2001 and we have never picked up a cigarette since then. 9 months later, I found I was pregnant with Oldest and the rest is history.

I try not to make dieting a resolution.. I don't think dieting is something you should do at the beginning of the year, but something you should maintain all of the year. Granted I'm no skinny minnie and I know I never will be skinny. I don't want to be skinny. I want to be healthy and I believe that if you are going to eat, eat good! I will not deprive myself of eating dessert as long as I balance it out with a salad or something healthy. I will have a soda now and then, but that won't be the only thing I drink all day long. I am blessed with a husband that happens to enjoy all my curves and tells me so almost daily. Our children eat most of what we put on their plates and they eat fruits and vegetables so I think we are doing a good job in the healthy eating dept.

Here's to a new year, with new beginnings and a brighter future. See you next year!

The Aftermath...

Christmas Day turned out to be so wonderful for us. All my worries of not being able to get anything for the girls and very little presents under the tree were all for naught. The Grandparents came over the Saturday before Christmas and bought over about 3 presents for each child to put under the tree. We managed to buy a small doll for each girl and Santa put those under the tree while they slept along with a case of playdoh that my Mom had bought and asked me to hold until Christmas. I also made matching hats and scarves for each out of some left over fleece I had from my blanket-making days. It was nice and simple and the girls loved what they got. They played with their dolls all day and are still playing with them today. They loved their hats and looked so cute modeling them and are now looking to the skies for an excuse to wear them when it snows.

I cooked that turkey that was gifted to us and it was oh so yummy! I like to slip sliced onions under the skin along with parsley, garlic and pepper and it seasons the meat so well! Being that we are all white-meat eaters, I saved all the dark meat for the cats to eat. Once upon a time, I used to buy whole chickens and make our own cat food, until the kids came along and it became easier to just open a can. It's nice to give the cats fresh meat and they really enjoy it! They don't wait for me to put it down and often grab it right out of my fingers! Gotta watch out for those claws--ouch! I also made pumpkin pies from the pumpkin out of the garden and it is just yummy. Hubby doesn't like pumpkin so more for me and the girls!

Tomorrow, we are having my Mom, Aunt and Uncle coming over for a late Christmas gathering. They will be staying the night so we were busy cleaning up the guest rooms. I store all our sale items in there for the kid's consignment shop and the girls sometimes go in and play without putting them away. The door gets shut and then it's out of sight, out of mind. Until I go in to change the sheets and realize what a mess it is in there! We cranked up the Christmas music and danced, sang and cleaned up, then I rewarded the girls with hot chocolates afterwards.

Gifts for them will be 3 different kinds of fudge: Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate Mint Fudge and Plain Chocolate Fudge; also those Peppermint Creams I wrote about a few posts ago. I printed out pictures of the girls and framed them, and finally, the Santa Heads we painted. I know they will be well received and everything was made out of love from all of us.

How was your Christmas?

Quick Canning Recipe for Gift-Giving

Tomorrow is Christmas eve and I hope most of you spent the weekend at home, relaxing with family and friends and not out with the crowds at the stores. You couldn't make me go out to the store on the last weekend before Christmas.

If you happen to have corn syrup, maple syrup and walnuts in your pantry, I have a great, easy, quick canning recipe for Walnut syrup which is absolutely yummy on top of ice cream or pancakes or even oatmeal. This makes a lovely gift and so easy to make.

You'll need:

1 1/2 c corn syrup (dark or light, doesn't matter)
1 c maple syrup
1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
2 c walnuts

This will make about 4 half-pints so I always double the recipe.

Combine all ingredients except for the nuts in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes until syrup mixture has thickened. Add nuts, cook 5 minutes more. Ladle into hot jars and then process in a hot water canner for 10 minutes. Done!

I grew up on this stuff, always putting it on top of my ice cream if Dad was willing to share! They sold at the store in these little tiny jars and were quite expensive-- the store here sells them for about $4 a jar. Ouch! You can make your own at a fraction of the cost. Needless to say, some of these jars are for gifts and some are for me! I made all these in about an hour and you'll impress whoever you give a jar to with your canning skills. Any ice cream and nut lover would enjoy getting this as a gift and would also make a nice hostess gift if you don't have time to make this before Christmas.

If you don't have all the ingredients on hand, you're in luck, because most stores have this stuff on sale right now for all the holiday baking people do. A quick run to the food store and you'll be able to whip this up just in time for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!

Everything Happens For A Reason

I truly believe that things happen for a reason. The way the old lady in the car in front of you drives so slow and there is no passing lane may save you from speeding into a 5 car accident just up ahead. The way the weather turns foul and you end up staying home and catching an important phone call. The stranger you meet at the store ends up sharing information that you needed to know. Sometimes, you don't see the reason right away and bang your head in frustration when you are stuck driving so slowly behind the old lady, but when you pass the accident, you become grateful and breathe a sigh of relief.

Something positive happened to me today. On my way back home from the food store, I passed a little thrift shop that had "Free Stuff" signs in front. I quickly made a u-turn, because you know me, I can't resist free stuff! As I got out of the car, a woman told me that I could help myself to anything I might want, she was closing shop because she was too busy with her kids and home schooling and her farm..... Wait! Did she say home schooling? I asked her about home schooling and turns out, yes, she home schools her kids! Yay! I finally meet someone that home schools around here!

I must admit that I felt like I was floundering a bit when it came to home schooling. I mean, we have the stuff: the books, the desks, the space; but I felt at a loss at how to go about teaching stuff. Oldest can read a bit and she can write a few words, basic math and she understands the concept of certain subjects, but I always felt like I was depriving her of something else, not quite sure what. Hubby and I actually discussed putting her in school for the second semester in January. Are we doing the right thing? Is she really learning? Are we being fair to her?

Then I meet a fellow home schooler and this lady is experienced! She has 7 children (or maybe 6) and she home schools all of them. Her oldest is already out on her own, but she schools the younger ones. She has a 4 year old, 2 year old and 7 month old and some older kids, too. She also has pygmy goats! I'm so excited! We stood outside there in the 40 degree cold weather and talked, talked and talked! It seems we have much in common and she even said she had planned to take her kids to the local Deaf school to learn sign language. Well how about that! I happen to know sign language and I could teach her kids how to sign and she'll help me out. We exchanged email addresses and I already heard from her and we agreed to get together after the holidays.

I came home after talking for over an hour with my new friend and poor Hubby was so worried thinking I was in an accident when I didn't come home when I should have. I shared the good news and it has given me so much encouragement for home schooling Oldest. Things happen for a reason, and meeting this woman was a blessing for me! Wouldn't you know, I didn't pick up any free stuff because I was having such a good time talking. I did pick up a new friend, though!

Santas For Sale!

Alright folks! Here are the Santa Heads that are for sale. These were carved by my Dad, then copied into a resin mold by a company and then painted by me. This is an original design by my dad and he does great wood carvings. I don't claim to be a professional painter, and I like to think I picked up a few tips and hints from my stepmom over the years. She is an outstanding painter in both acrylics and watercolor and I should also mention that these Santa heads are painted with acrylic paints.

They are for sale for $20 each, which includes shipping (within the 48 states, please). If you are interested, leave me your email address and I will send you the information you'll need to pay via Paypal. I will take a check, but that means it'll take longer to send out to you. I'm sorry these won't get to you by Christmas, unless I am able to mail this on Friday (tomorrow) and then you should get it maybe on Monday. Depends on the Post Office!

They stand about 5 inches tall (some of the measurements vary but on average, they're about 5 inches). They will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Tell me which one you want and I will put a "SOLD" note next to it.


Santa number 1. Dark red hat with gold star accents SOLD

Santa number 2. Light green hat SOLD


Santa number 3. Yellow hat with holly all around

Santa number 4. Red hat with gold polka dot accents SOLD

Santa number 5. Plain red hat

Santa number 6. Green hat with gold polka dot accents

Santa number 7. Candy cane hat SOLD

Santa number 8. Red hat with Holly leaf accent SOLD

Santas For Sale-- preview!

It has been a busy day for us. Our digital camera broke and we needed to replace it. Without the camera, I cannot take the pictures I need to sell things on eBay. Without eBay, we cannot earn the money we need to cover our costs for food, gas and bills. Without money for food, gas and bills, well, we wouldn't be here right now. So we scraped together some money and scoured all the sales ads and found the best camera deal for the money. In this case, I am grateful for all the sales for Christmas and we found a pretty nice camera. It isn't my dream camera, but it'll do. It's already a better camera than what we had so I can't complain. Our old camera managed to last more than 4 years, so you can imagine what a dinosaur it must be, by now. Shame, though, because now we can't use the little photo printer that we bought to go with it, but I checked on eBay and they had some on there, so I might sell it on eBay. What good is the printer without the camera?

Anyway.. that's not the topic of this post. When I posted the picture of the painted Santa heads a few days ago, I got some requests from a few people that wanted to know if they could buy them. That was their original intention by my Dad and Stepmom, to paint and then sell. I counted the blanks and I have more than enough to give some as gifts to our families and sell some to others. So, if you are interested in buying any Santa heads, carved by my dad then duplicated by a company then painted by me, (which means these are original and will not be found in stores anywhere) I will be selling a limited number of Santa heads.


I have 8 Santa heads for sale, at $20 apiece, including shipping costs (overseas shipping would be a little higher). I am still painting so the ones above are not all of them. I should be done painting tonight and will post a photo of the finished Santas tomorrow morning. You can pay via paypal and I will post that information along with the picture of the Santas in the morning. I will ship as soon as I receive payment, but I realize that some of these Santas won't get there before Christmas. I didn't plan on selling these, otherwise I would have done this sooner. Anyway, if you are interested, leave a comment.

Drumroll Please...

I have been bubbling with certain information that I could not share for awhile now. First it was a matter of checking to make sure and then it was a matter of telling people in person so they don't find out by reading it here. Now that I have checked and double-checked, told all the major family members, I can finally share it here.

We are expecting baby #4.

It caught us by surprise. While we were busy working at the store and oohing and ahhing over the cutest baby clothes, teasing Hubby, "this is too cute! Let's go in the back and make another one!" While enduring yet another painful visit from Aunt Flo and begging Hubby, "get me pregnant so I don't have to deal with Aunt Flo for at least 9 months!" Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true!

This would also explain my roller coaster of emotions these past few weeks: Hubby's lack of a job, tight money, Christmas coming, baby on the way, hormones running rampant, to name a few.

We have made our peace and have accepted the responsibility of having baby #4. We never did say we were done after Youngest got here and I always thought 4 kids would be fun. Thankfully, I still have most of our baby things: the crib, highchair and stroller, and will only need to get an infant car seat and clothing for a newborn. I have the store in the spring to get the things I will need when baby gets here in the summer and I am not worried about the material things.

If Hubby doesn't find a job with insurance benefits, then I will probably have another home birth like I did with Youngest. I will contact the same mid-wife and I already know what to do and expect.

I can tell you this: There will be NO hanky-panky going on after baby#4 gets here until there is some kind of snip-snip happening first! As in, Hubby gets snip-snipped!

My estimated due date is June 28th, 2008. The girls are excited and have been walking around with dolls stuffed under their shirts and they are giving birth to everything from baby dolls to beanie babies. They lift their shirts to "nurse" their babies and go around shushing everyone because "baby" is asleep in the play stroller. They kiss my belly and come up with names: Rainbow, Carla, Sundy, Cookie, Oatmeal... There is one thing for sure, this baby is loved.